You Will Marry Me

This is a story from the weekend after my proposal, and how we informed our parents of the occasion. I'll keep this one brief since our little girl is about to wake up any minute now and I promised Tano a well deserved night out with her girls.

It began with the two of us in our living room, I was buried in a book while she was enjoying my company by resting her head on my lap and looking at me from below.

"Hi mom, hi dad. I'm back from Paris! Oh, by the way, I got engaged!" I heard my betrothed muttering as she tapped her fingers on the screen of her phone. As she said, the two of us had returned to our home not but a few days prior, and she had been given a break due to all the recent end of that spectacular show that was the reason for our trip. I, however, was back to the grindstone that was my life as a university student. "Now that I think about it...have I told them that I was dating you?"

"Wait...you didn't tell them!?" I had to stop my work to look down at her. She had a contemplative frown.

"Actually, I don't think I told them I was dating anyone." As if on cue, a message came from her father.

"You went out and got a boyfriend without telling us!? What's his name? Introduce us! I want to give him a piece of my mind!" My soon-to-be father-in-law was livid at the sudden announcement.

"Dad, relax. It'll be fine." She sent a text back as fast as she could. "Actually, are you free this Saturday? We can go out for dinner together and I can introduce you!" She spoke while typing it out. I raised an eyebrow her way.

"They already know who I am though...since we always hung out together," I stated, pushing away my assignments to give her my undivided attention.

"Did you tell your parents you were dating me?" She asked me. I opened my mouth to retort but shut it as soon as I found out that I had done the same thing as her. "I thought so!" She smirked a toothy grin that was similar to my own. "I have a plan! Formal or casual?" She asked me as she sat up and began pacing around the room. I chose the latter and she immediately began detailing her scheme.

"Dad! Mom! Over here!" She called out to her parents before crossing the street to meet up with them. "He's running a little late, let's go to the restaurant for now. He'll meet us there." She put on her best smile, trying her damndest to contain the elation she was feeling as the plan was going without a hitch. The restaurant the two of us chose was a family-run burger joint; she chose it because of the highly acclaimed milkshakes they served that seemed popular among her model friends. They ordered their food the moment they sat down, burgers with a side of onion rings and sodas to quench their thirst except for my fiance who had ordered a strawberry milkshake. She was currently overcome by the flood of indulgence that currently stared back at her with its pink swirls.

"The nerve of him, honestly he has no manners!" Her father grumbled, taking an onion ring and pointing to his daughter with it. "It's already been fifteen minutes and he still hasn't shown up!"

"Dear, be patient, I'm sure he has his reasons. Right, Tano?" Her mother tried to calm him down, placing a hand on his shoulder and gently shaking him.

"Yeah. He's very busy at university, and he had to take care of something today. I hope it doesn't take too long." She lied through her teeth as two sets of footsteps approached their table. "Mr. and Ms. Onjo? What a coincidence meeting you here. What brings you to this part of the city?"

"Is that Tano? My how you've grown!" My mother walked a few steps closer, taking Tano's cheeks in her hands while my father started a conversation with her parents. "Akira told us he had an important announcement, and we decided to meet up here."

"Aki..." Tano lowered her head, her voice dropping a few pitches as she acted out sorrow. "What happened to him after we moved away?" She asked though she knew the answer already. Unbeknownst to the four of them, she had slipped her phone out of her pocket to send me a text.

"He...went into a downward spiral. He was so distraught about you and he thought that it was his fault." My dad spoke bluntly, staring at the menu half-heartedly. "We...had to kick him out of the house since it would only get worse if he stayed with us. We haven't heard from him since then."

"Until the other day, you mean." My mother corrected him. "I hope it's good news."

"Akira was really worried about you. Maybe you should talk to him and apologize for moving away so suddenly." Ms. Nakumi said, placing a hand on Tano's back to console her; though Tano was only acting.

"But it was thanks to that move that I got to be where I am now..." Tano muttered, placing a hand in one of her pockets while she sorrowfully sipped her shake. I had arrived just then, pretending to look shocked and worried.

"Akira?" My own mother asked, looking at me with a perplexed mug. The last time they had seen me was in my sorry state of being overweight and unkempt. But now I had been going to the gym and eating a proper diet, had stylists in my friend circle, and lived with a model who was more than willing enough to give me tips to improve my appearance.

"Mom! Dad! And...Mr. and Ms. Nakumi...and that means..." I slowly turned my head to match Tano's gaze. She looked surprised, but we both knew that we were just doing a bit. "Tano...I..."

"Sit down son. You seem to be doing better." My dad called me over, letting me sit down at their table. "So what have you been up to?"

"I've been going to the gym and eating better. And I'm currently in a relationship that I want to take to the next level." I said, a lie by omission.

"Was that your announcement?" My mom asked, to which a gave a nod.

"Akira. I'd like to apologize for the sudden move when you were younger. I heard that you had gone through a lot since then." Mr. Nakumi bowed his head, gently nudging Tano who did the same to not break her act. "Apologize too, Tano." He whispered not-so-silently. Before my future wife could reply, Ms. Nakumi changed the subject.

"Speaking of relationships. Our little Tano had gotten herself engaged!" She said, elated. "We were supposed to meet him, but he's running a bit late." My parents were startled by the sudden development while Mr. Nakumi grumbled while munching on his onion rings. Just then, Tano faked receiving a text.

"Oh, he's here!" She said, slightly louder while pretending to stare at the entrance, everyone followed her actions and also glanced at the door. Tano silently pulled out the hand she put in her pocket, taking my hand intertwining them.

"Where is the runt?" Her father seemed ready to kill, grinding his teeth together to loudly that I began to get concerned for their health.

Her mother sighed. "Did you two really have to do this?" Used to her daughter's shenanigans, she chuckled.

"It was her idea," I said, shifting all of the attention onto her. She shrank, chuckling like a criminal who was resigned to their fate.

"Oh come on! Don't sweat the details!" She said, pouting as she put the straw of her shake in her mouth. I moved my arm out to mess with her hair, giggling myself as the waiter came to get my parents' and my orders. The six of us ate, though seeing a fashion model gobble down a triple patty burger was a sight to behold since it was so juxtaposed to their expectations of grace that came with her profession. Needless to say, it went well.

Now, I have to go. The baby began crying, and Tano wouldn't be back for another hour.